Alessandro Matri (; born 19 August 1984) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Born in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy, a comune 30 km away from the city of Milan, Matri started his career at Milan. He made his debut on 24 May 2003, against Piacenza as a starter, as Milan rested the majority of its regular starting eleven in view of the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final won over Juventus four days later. Matri partnered with Michele Piccolo and was replaced by Roberto Bortolotto in the 71st minute; he did not score. In the next season, Matri spent the entire year playing ludo with Milan's Primavera (under-20) team, failing to feature in the senior team. In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, he left on loan to Prato (along with Piccolo) and Lumezzane, where he played in 64 total Serie C1 matches. Rimini(loan) In the 2006–07 season, Matri was loaned to Rimini of Serie B. Here he partnered with the more experienced Adrián Ricchiuti, Jeda and Davide Moscardelli, all of whom would later play in Serie A, thus he sometimes started from the bench. During his stay in Rimini, Matri scored four goals in Serie B, all between March and April 2007: a double in Brescia, a goal against Treviso and the goal that decided a home derby against the rivals of A.C. Cesena. He also scored a goal in the 2006–07 Coppa Italia. Cagliari In June 2007, as part of David Suazo's deal to Milan, Matri left for Cagliari in co-ownership deal for €2 million. (Suazo eventually joined city rival Internazionale.) Matri partnered with Robert Acquafresca, which Internazionale sent him to Cagliari as part of the Suazo deal. The pair scored 16 goals for the team, ahead of midfielders Pasquale Foggia and Daniele Conti, both with five goals. Their replacement, Jeda and Joaquín Larrivey, scored three goals in half season and one goal in the full season, respectively. In June 2008, Cagliari bought another half of Matri's registration rights for an additional €2 million. In the next season, Matri became the third-choice striker, as Jeda and Acquafresca were in better form throughout the season. He did score, however, six goals in 31 matches, but only 11 of them as a starter. After Acquafresca's exit to Genoa, Matri became the other half of a starting pair along with Jeda, with new signing Nenê